People Of The Sun

Another Revelation test press that I got from an ex Rev employee, and this one is Rev 56, which is the 'People Of The Sun' 10" by Rage Against The Machine. This one was released in 1997, and when it came out I thought it was a slightly weird release. At the time, RATM were a huge band and even though Rev was possibly at it's peak in terms of sales and distribution, RATM were clearly too big for the label. God only knows how this one ever actually came to be.

This EP was released as a 6 song record, which is interesting as the major label release on CD had only 3 songs. At the time it came out I couldn't care less about it, as at that point I had decided that RATM was garbage. I bought a copy when it was released just because it was on Rev, but I don't think I listened to it even once. WHat is even stranger is that as the years have rolled on, this has been repressed several times on different colours of vinyl. To me this really does feel like a 'time and place' type record, and not really one that should have been kept in print. I'm not sure I can really explain why, but that's how I feel about it.

Well anyway, even though I am not the biggest fan of this record, I still jumped at the chance to grab this test press. As with a few other releases from the same period, there were only 4 test pressings made, so this is a nice one to have for sure. Also, it barely shows in the photo, but this one has a slight whisp of white in it on each side, which looks kinda cool in real life.

Sadly I hadn't kept up on buying all the colours of this one over the years. But I'm definitely wanting to grab the copies I missed after picking up this test. So here's the 2022 clear vinyl repress:

There's also now a grey vinyl pressing from this year that I need to pick up. But interestingly, both the clear and grey were pressed at a different pressing plant to the earlier pressings, and there is (you guessed it) another test press from this plant. So plenty to keep collectors going.

I still need the red vinyl from 2014 (with '2014' stemped on the label) and the green vinyl version. If by any chance anyone can help I'd be very grateful.

She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not

Next in my series of Revelation test pressings that I picked up from an ex Rev employee is Rev 58, which is an absolute monster of a record. The debut release from Kiss It Goodbye, 'She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not' first surfaced in 1997, and certainly took me by surprise, because it was a new band with the singer from Deadguy... although when it came out, the Deadguy LP still felt relatively new, so I was slightly confused.

What I do remember about this record was being stoked that this band, which to me sounded like Deadguy due to the distinct vocals, was on Rev rather than Victory. It just felt like an indication that Rev was the number one label and had the power to grab the hot new bands before people even knew they existed.

According to the Rev pressing info, there are only 4 copies of this test press in existence, so I feel pretty lucky to have bagged this one. Sadly it didn't come with anything other than a white paper sleeve, so if by some coincidence anyone happens to have an empty sleeve laying about then get at me.

Liquid Glass

Next up on my series of Revelation test pressings that I picked up from a former Rev employee is Rev 52, which is the second full length by Whirlpool, 'Liquid Glass'.

Originally released back in 1996, Whirlpool was a band fronted by Rodney Sellars, best known for playing guitar in both Sensefield and Reason To Believe. Back when this came out, Sensefield were a pretty big deal, so I'm not entirely sure why Rodney felt the need to do a second band, although I'm sure I read at some point over the years that he was at a creative peak, writing a lot of material, not all of which seemed quite right for Sensefield. So Whirlpool was formed, and also included someone from Mean Season, as well as the drummer from Sensefield.

I remember this one coming out, and I remember at the time thinking that it was a much stronger record than their debut LP. But as much as I did enjoy this record at the time, it hasn't really proved to be one that I go back to very often.

As the picture shows, I actually picked up two test pressings for this record. The first test press (on the left) is a two sided record, but for whatever reason the A side was rejected. This has actually happened with a few Rev records, and generally what happens is that a new test is made only for the defective side. So the second test press (on the right) is a one sided record, and contains a recut of the A side of this LP.

Fun fact - any record that was remade has the same matrix but for the addition of 'RE' (presumably meaning 'recut'). Sometimes just the defective side was recut as a new test, sometimes both sides. But it's quite fun to go through the Rev records and check out the matrix on either side. If you spot the 'RE' it means that there are at least 2 test pressings made for that particular record. Which also means more to collect, of course.

Meditavolutions

My next batch of posts are some Revelation Records test pressings that I picked up recently from an ex Rev employee (the same guy who I got the Equal Vision test pressings from that I posted earlier this month). Each of these test pressings are from the 95/96 era, as that was when this person worked there, and for the Rev fanatic like me this represents a great era of Rev releases.

So I'm kicking off with Rev 49, which is the 4th album by Iceburn, titled 'Meditavolutions'. This came in a plain white paper sleeve, but somehow I had a spare sleeve for this record on my shelf, which I have no idea where it came from nor how long I have had it. But now has a sleeve.

This was released in 1996, and is the first release by which the band went under the name 'The Iceburn Collective' rather than simply 'Iceburn'. When this originally came out I was distinctly unimpressed with it. It's a little more jazz influenced than their presvious records, and quite long (it goes on for over an hour). But these days I quite enjoy playing stuff like this on days when I am working from home. I kinda need things that are a little slower and gentler whilst knee deep in the spreadsheets.

The Rev pressing info states that there were only 4 test pressings made of this record, so I'm pretty stoked to have got this one. One lives in the Rev vault, one sits on my shelf, and there are 2 more out there somewhere. So good luck if you're looking for one (which I doubt many people are!).

Clobberer!

A couple of months ago I ended up buying a Rhythm Collision LP after hearing it on youtube some 30 years after it came out. The record was pretty cheap, looked nice, and sounded great. It's been a great find for me this year, and it made a nice change to find a 'new' band whose records are not too expensive. Well anyway, the person who sold it to me sent me a message asking if I was interested in any other Rhythm Collision Records. Well yes, of course I was!

'Clobberer!' was the band's 3rd LP and came out in 1995 on Dr. Strange Records on a couple of different colours of vinyl. This green marble colour that I got looks so rad in person. This is from an era when labels used proper pressing plants. This looks so much nicer in real life, but sadly he photo couldn't quite do it justice. It's a shame that I can't say the same about the cover.

I've been playing this one a fair bit the last couple of weeks. There are some super catchy songs on here. This kinda stuff is always great for summer weather... although I'm not sure there's too much of that left this year the way it's been here recently. Anyway, I also picked up another couple of Rhythm Collision records from the same person, and I'll whack them up here when I finally get around to listening to them. Hopefully before the summer is out.

Ghosts In My Mirror

Back in 2016 I had some bad luck with a missing parcel. Inside was something like 98 records which ended up being lost forever. I moved on from it a long time ago, but now and again I am reminded about it because I manage to pick up another record that was in there. Today's post is another example.

I have always loved Swiz. I remember buying a gold vinyl copy of their first 7" from an ad in a copy of Maximum Rock N Roll zine simlpy because someone had told me how good Swiz were and how hard their records were to come by. So I just bought it blind, so to speak. But damnit, that person was right, and after that I went on a mission to track all of their records down. And then many years later I started trying to collect multiple copies of each.

I've owned a first pressing of their debut 12" release since about 1994. At the time I had no idea that there was more than one version out there, and then when I did find out that there were two pressings, I was stoked that I had a first press and not a second. But as the years rolled on, I realised that I also wanted a second press, because I actually think that the red cover looks better. Right?

Built To Last

The final in my series of 4 posts on some Equal Vision Records test pressings that I got from an ex Rev employee recently. This one is EVR 36, which is the 4th full length from Sick Of It All, 'Built To Last'. Originally released in 1997, this was their second one put out by a major label (EastWest), and the second time that Equal Vision stepped in to make sure it got pressed on vinyl for the hardcore community.

Back when this one came out I was super excited for it, as it was the follow up to what I still think is probably the band's best record, 'Scratch The Surface'. Right off the bat this one looked the part, with a the grill of a badass looking truck on the front cover. However, at the time I just remember feeling a little disappointed by it. As a general rule, I seem to get into every other SOIA record, so following 'Scratch The Surface' was never going to be easy, and I think that in the time between the two records, a LOT had happened in the world of hardcore. Also, in 1997 when this came out, SOIA started to feel like an old band It had been 10 years since their debut 7" had come out), although ten years seems like nothing as I type this over 25 years later. Still, regarldess of my memory of it, I obviously played this one a fair bit as I know the songs, and there are some bangers on here. I will admit though, I have no idea where people rank this one generally amongst the many SOIA albums that now exist. Is it up there as one of their best, or do people generally regard it as a forgettable one? Answers in the comments if you will.

Everlasting

Third in my series of four Equal Vision test pressings that I picked up from an ex Revelation Records employee is for sure an interesting one. Originally released in 1994 by a Swedish label, Refused 'Everlasting' was released as EVR 33 in 1997 and was, at the time, the first and only vinyl pressing of this record. This has changed in the following years with the ever increasing popularity of vinyl. But this US pressing on EVR was the first vinyl pressing made.

Back when this came out in the early 90s, y money was always reserved for vinyl and mainly whatever was coming out of the States, so with the first few Refused records being put out by European labels and on CD only, the band didn't make it onto my radar. What changed this was the release of their 1996 full length 'Songs To Fan The Flames Of Discontent' which came out on Victory Records. Looking back, this was one of the first examples of a big US hardcore label putting out a band from Europe, and I really loved that record when it came out. Or at least, the first three songs. So when EVR reissued 'Everlasting' I was down. The record is a little bit more basic, but it's undoubtedly a great record. For the 90s hardcore fan, this is probably their peak. I say that as I never liked 'The Shape Of Punk To Come'. Controversial, I know., but that's how I roll.

Bloodlust Revenge

Second in my series of four posts featuring some Equal Vision test pressings that I just picked up from an ex Revelation Records employee, this one I am super stoked on as it was a record that I played a hell of a lot when it came out in 1997. This is an original test press of EVR 31, which is the 'Bloodlust Revenge' EP from One King Down.

From the perspective of someone who lived across the pond, my recollection of this was that I bought it just because it was on Equal Vision, and as soon as I dropped the needle to check it out I was floored. This was an era when Earth Crisis were one of the biggest hardcore bands, although they had gone a little off track for me with their second full length ('Gomorrah's Season Ends') as the vocal style had changed for the worse. So One King Down came along playing a similar sound to earlier Earth Crisis but with a little more groove, and I instantly assumed that this was gonne be THE big new band. Well, sadly it didn't quite work out that way, as their original vocalist left and the replacement (and their second EVR release) sounded very different, and that was that. They cranked out a 7" a couple of years later with the orignal vocalist, but I think that by then the momentum had gone and it was pretty much all over. But goddamn, this record still very much holds up. I don't think I've ever even seen an original test press before, so this is a really cool find for me.

Rumble

I picked up some Equal Vision Records test pressings from someone recently who used to work for Revelation Records in the mid 90s. Back then, there was some kind of arrangement between Rev and EVR, whereby Rev seemed to manage the production of EVR vinyl releases at their local pressing plant (Rainbo). So it was no surprise that someone who worked at Rev had some EVR tests in his collection. I was happy to be able to buy these, as EVR was such a great label through the 90s, and there are some truly great records in the label's back catalog. All of these tests came to me in plain white paper sleeves, so I pulled out the regular records to make the photos a little more interesting.

I figured I'd post these tests one at a time in catalog number order, so first up is EVR 30, which is the the 3rd full length from Serpico titled 'Rumble'. The band were from Staten Island, NY, and were active from circa 1990 to 1998. The band were originally called Sleeper, but had to change their name as there was a UK band with the same name who were active at the same time. Discogs tells me that this band were paid $125k to give up the rights to the name Sleeper in the US, which seems kinda cool if it's true, and much better than a 'cease and desist' letter which is usually how bands are told that they have to change their name. Anyway, I latched on to this band before they got signed to Equal Vision as they had some records on Excursion Records, but their move to EVR marked a big improvement in their sound (well, to me at least). This record came out in 1996 and, aside from a 7", ended up being their last release. They played melodic hardcore and were very catchy and I'm not really sure why they didn't catch on and blow up more. Then again, a lot of stuff in the 90s makes little sense with the gift of hindsight.

'87 Demo

When I picked up the Turning Point / NO Escape 7" test press (as per my last post), I also took the opportunity to ask the seller if he had any other test presses that he may be intrested in letting go. He took a little time to check and then came back to me to tell me that he had one - a Gorilla Biscuits bootleg 7". Now, I wouldn't usually touch boots, but this one almost reaches semi official status in my mind. So I said I'd take it. I offered not much as it's a boot, but he was ok with that, and a deal was made.

This is a test press of the Gorilla Biscuits '87 Demo 7". I used to own one copy of it, but I part traded it away a year or two ago to someone who seemed pretty desperate to get hold of it.

The reason I consider this one 'semi official' is that the one copy that I did own came direct from Jordan at Rev many years ago. Plus also, at some point Rev sold a few of these from their vault. So I kinda figure that if it's good enough for Rev to sell, then it almost counts... even though it is definitely a bootleg.

I figured that any GB test press was worth grabbing if I had the chance, but now I feel that I kinda want just one copy of the regular copy of the record. Sadly it can't be sold on discogs due to its bootleg status, so not sure how easy it will be to find one these days. But if anyone out there can help, let me know.